Proverbs 30–31

Chapter 30

The Words of Agur

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the ¹oracle.

The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

²Surely I am more ^astupid than any man,

And I do not have the understanding of a man.

³Neither have I learned wisdom,

Nor do I have the ^aknowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ^aascended into heaven and descended?

Who has gathered the ^bwind in His fists?

Who has ^cwrapped the waters in ¹His garment?

Who has ^destablished all the ends of the earth?

What is His ^ename or His son’s name?

Surely you know!

⁵Every ^aword of God is tested;

He is a ^bshield to those who take refuge in Him.

^6aDo not add to His words

Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.

⁷Two things I asked of You,

Do not refuse me before I die:

⁸Keep deception and ¹lies far from me,

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with the ^afood that is my portion,

⁹That I not be ^afull and deny ^bYou and say, “Who is the Lord?”

Or that I not be ^cin want and steal,

And ^dprofane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a slave to his master,

Or he will ^acurse you and you will be found guilty.

¹¹There is a ¹kind of man who ^acurses his father

And does not bless his mother.

¹²There is a ¹kind who is ^apure in his own eyes,

Yet is not washed from his filthiness.

¹³There is a ¹kind—oh how ^alofty are his eyes!

And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.

¹⁴There is a ¹kind of man whose ^ateeth are like swords

And his ^bjaw teeth like knives,

To ^cdevour the afflicted from the earth

And the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters,

“Give,” “Give.”

There are three things that will not be satisfied,

Four that will not say, “Enough”:

^161aSheol, and the ^bbarren womb,

Earth that is never satisfied with water,

And fire that never says, “Enough.”

¹⁷The eye that ^amocks a father

And ^1bscorns a mother,

The ^cravens of the valley will pick it out,

And the young eagles will eat it.

¹⁸There are three things which are too wonderful for me,

Four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of an ^aeagle in the sky,

The way of a serpent on a rock,

The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,

And the way of a man with a maid.

²⁰This is the way of an ^aadulterous woman:

She eats and wipes her mouth,

And says, “I have done no wrong.”

²¹Under three things the earth quakes,

And under four, it cannot bear up:

²²Under a ^aslave when he becomes king,

And a fool when he is satisfied with food,

²³Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,

And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

²⁴Four things are small on the earth,

But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ^aants are not a strong people,

But they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶The ^1ashephanim are not mighty people,

Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

²⁷The locusts have no king,

Yet all of them go out in ^aranks;

²⁸The lizard you may grasp with the hands,

Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are stately in their march,

Even four which are stately when they walk:

³⁰The lion which is ^amighty among beasts

And does not ^1bretreat before any,

³¹The ¹strutting rooster, the male goat also,

And a king when his army is with him.

³²If you have been foolish in exalting yourself

Or if you have plotted evil, ^aput your hand on your mouth.

³³For the ¹churning of milk produces butter,

And pressing the nose brings forth blood;

So the churning of ^aanger produces strife.

Chapter 31

The Words of Lemuel

¹The words of King Lemuel, the ¹oracle which his mother taught him:

²What, O my son?

And what, O ^ason of my womb?

And what, O son of my ^bvows?

^3aDo not give your strength to women,

Or your ways to that which ^bdestroys kings.

⁴It is not for ^akings, O Lemuel,

It is not for kings to ^bdrink wine,

Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

⁵For they will drink and forget what is decreed,

And ^apervert the ¹rights of all the ²afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink to him who is ^aperishing,

And wine to him ^1bwhose life is bitter.

⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty

And remember his trouble no more.

^8aOpen your mouth for the mute,

For the ¹rights of all the ²unfortunate.

⁹Open your mouth, ^ajudge righteously,

And ¹defend the ^brights of the afflicted and needy.

Description of a Worthy Woman

¹⁰An ^aexcellent wife, who can find?

For her worth is far ^babove jewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,

And he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

¹³She looks for wool and flax

And works with her ¹hands ²in delight.

¹⁴She is like ^amerchant ships;

She brings her food from afar.

¹⁵She ^arises also while it is still night

And ^bgives food to her household

And ¹portions to her maidens.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;

From ¹her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She ^agirds ¹herself with strength

And makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She senses that her gain is good;

Her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her ¹hands grasp the spindle.

²⁰She ^1aextends her hand to the poor,

And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household,

For all her household are ^aclothed with scarlet.

²²She makes ^acoverings for herself;

Her clothing is ^bfine linen and ^cpurple.

²³Her husband is known ^ain the gates,

When he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes ^alinen garments and sells them,

And ¹supplies belts to the ²tradesmen.

²⁵Strength and ^adignity are her clothing,

And she smiles at the ¹future.

²⁶She ^aopens her mouth in wisdom,

And the ¹teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household,

And does not eat the ^abread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

²⁹“Many daughters have done nobly,

But you excel them all.”

³⁰Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who ^1afears the Lord, she shall be praised.

³¹Give her the ¹product of her hands,

And let her works praise her in the gates.